Top banner
The World Factbook 2002

         
  Libya  
Flag of Libya
Click to enlarge
Categories Banner
  Introduction
  Geography
  People
  Government
  Economy
  Communications
  Transportation
  Military
  Transnational Issues

In general, information available as of 1 January 2002
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2002.


This page was last updated on 1 January 2002


Map of Libya

Legend: Definition Definition Field Listing Field Listing
   Introduction    Libya
Background:
Definition Field Listing
Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999.
   Geography    Libya
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
25 00 N, 17 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Africa
Area:
Definition Field Listing
total: 1,759,540 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
1,770 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
4,700 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert
   People    Libya
Population:
Definition Field Listing
5,368,585
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2002 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 35% (male 958,243; female 917,940)
15-64 years: 61% (male 1,694,986; female 1,581,400)
65 years and over: 4% (male 105,500; female 110,516) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.41% (2002 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing
27.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing
3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing
27.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing
total population: 75.86 years
female: 78.11 years (2002 est.)
male: 73.71 years
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing
3.57 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing
0.05% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Sunni Muslim 97%
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2%
male: 87.9%
female: 63% (1995 est.)
   Government    Libya
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya
local short form: none
local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Tripoli
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
24 December 1951 (from Italy)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA)
election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA%
cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000)
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees)
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
none
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
Libya does not have an embassy in the US
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion)
   Economy    Libya
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. The suspension of UN sanctions in 1999 also boosted growth. Libya's January 2002 51% devaluation of the official exchange rate of the dinar is another fiscal plus, although it will also bring higher inflation.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing
purchasing power parity - $40 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing
purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 7%
industry: 47%
services: 46% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing
13.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing
1.5 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing
30% (2000 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $9.3 billion
expenditures: $9.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
NA%
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing
19.4 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source:
Definition Field Listing
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing
18.042 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle
Exports:
Definition Field Listing
$13.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
crude oil, refined petroleum products
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Italy 42%, Germany 19%, Spain 13%, Turkey 6%, France 4%, Switzerland 3%, Tunisia 2% (2000)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing
$8.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Italy 25%, Germany 10%, UK 8%, France 7%, Tunisia 7%, South Korea 4% (2000)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing
$4.7 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$7 million (1999 est.)
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
Libyan dinar (LYD)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
LYD
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.6501 (December 2001), 0.6501 (2001), 0.5403 (2000), 0.5403 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997); market rate for Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.55 (January 2002)
note: Libya devalued its official rate for foreign trade on 1 January 2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar; the previous official rate was 0.63 dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Libya
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing
380,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999)
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios:
Definition Field Listing
1.35 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998)
Televisions:
Definition Field Listing
730,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.ly
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
Definition Field Listing
1 (2000)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing
20,000 (2001)
   Transportation    Libya
Railways:
Definition Field Listing
note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard-gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (2001)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 24,484 km
paved: 6,798 km
unpaved: 17,686 km
note: data for the length of unpaved roads include the assumption that because they were listed as secondary roads, they are unpaved; some may be paved and some part of the primary roads may not be paved (1996)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
none
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing
total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.)
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
136 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 2 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 22
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 78
under 914 m: 18 (2001)
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 40
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
Heliports:
Definition Field Listing
1 (2001)
   Military    Libya
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force)
Military manpower - military age:
Definition Field Listing
17 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 1,503,647 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 890,783 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 61,694 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing
$1.3 billion (FY99/00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing
3.9% (FY99/00)
   Transnational Issues    Libya
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
Chadian rebels from Aozou region reside in Libya; Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in Niger as well as part of southeastern Algeria in currently dormant disputes

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002


Bottom Banner